Solar Chargers?

[phourgenres]

It seems 8-9oz is about as light as I can get with these. Anyone have any suggestions. I currently have the harbor freight one, but Im looking at the Poweradd apollo 2.

[Ercoupe]

I have the poweradd 7400 unit. Worked good for me on an LG3 for 7 days.

Unit charged good in full sun, would rarely get to full charge. Even on house current It can take overnight. But it never failed me either. If you are hiking in shade it will be more of a battery pack.

I would not leave it out in the rain. Ports are not covered on mine.

Liked the flashing lights to tell whether it is charging or charge amount when it is in charge mode.

[Sodium]

What are you charging and how many days will you be going between power outlets? For many hiking situations it is lighter (and cheaper) to just carry an extra battery than bother with a solar panel.

[phourgenres]

kindle, mp3 player, and gps. I won't be staying in any hostels or hotels, so I doubt ill have much access to outlets to charge.

[BrianLe]

Depending on what type of kindle you have, power consumption might be quite low. Standalone GPS units typically take replaceable batteries, though I guess there are some rechargeable units out there. Ditto MP3 player --- if it's an issue, there are least used to be units that take a single AAA battery, which lasts perhaps 15 hours or so. I like using one of these on long distance hikes, as that way the MP3 player has its own "power budget" that doesn't compete with more important functions (taking pictures, logging trail journal entries, possibly getting a weather forecast).

I carried a solar charger for much of the PCT when I hiked that, and concluded from the result that few long distance hikers should consider it. There are a lot of "styles" of hiking, however, so depending on your style(s), where & what time of year you hike, specific gear you have to recharge, it's certainly possible that a solar charger makes sense for you. For most people, however, and in most situations, I kind of doubt it.

[phourgenres]

Depending on what type of kindle you have, power consumption might be quite low. Standalone GPS units typically take replaceable batteries, though I guess there are some rechargeable units out there. Ditto MP3 player --- if it's an issue, there are least used to be units that take a single AAA battery, which lasts perhaps 15 hours or so. I like using one of these on long distance hikes, as that way the MP3 player has its own "power budget" that doesn't compete with more important functions (taking pictures, logging trail journal entries, possibly getting a weather forecast).

I carried a solar charger for much of the PCT when I hiked that, and concluded from the result that few long distance hikers should consider it. There are a lot of "styles" of hiking, however, so depending on your style(s), where & what time of year you hike, specific gear you have to recharge, it's certainly possible that a solar charger makes sense for you. For most people, however, and in most situations, I kind of doubt it.

All of my devices have built in lithium rechargeable batteries.

Im thinking I wasn't as clear with my initial post. I'm not asking whether my devices will be supported, I'm just trying to figure out what model is model is most efficient that provides the lowest weight.

[Sodium]

The reason people are asking about your devices, is to get an idea of the size of solar panel you'd need, and how many hours it would need to be pointed at the sun. You could get a tiny lightweight panel which would take days to charge your GPS, or a huge heavy "base camp" system that would be total overkill unless you were running laptops off it.

If you just want to recharge your 3 devices, aren't stopping in hostels, but want to save weight, have you considered something like this?
http://www.amazon.com/ELEGIANT-Porta...k+aa+batteries

basically a very light plastic case that takes 4 AA size batteries, and then can charge any of your 3 devices from it over USB. So you'd just buy/maildrop replacement AA batteries when you get food. Call it 4oz including the batteries? Lighter if you use lithium AA's.

I've not used the Poweradd Apollo2 (9.38oz) but outdoorgearlab.com says it takes 50 hours of full sunshine to charge up the battery. Is that you sitting at a campsite, angling the solar panel towards the sun? or on your rucksack while you hike, in which case it won't charge as quickly.

[Rocket Jones]

A lot is going to depend on which trail you're hiking. Big difference in solar between an open desert trail vs. a long green tunnel. I've yet to see a solar charger that was worth the trouble or weight in the east.